Clinical Connections: Gait and Ambulation After Spinal Cord Injury

May 24, 2022

One of the first questions that a patient asks after a spinal cord injury is often “Will I walk again?”. For decades clinicians and researchers have struggled to answer that question as the recovery of ambulation can be highly variable and may be related to many different clinical and non-clinical factors. Additionally, pursuing gait training and ambulation after spinal cord injury can be beneficial for long-term health and mobility, but may also increase the risk of negative outcomes. This presentation will provide information about the benefits and risks of walking, understanding how to use current clinical tools for prediction of ambulation, the clinical utility of those tools, and new directions to improve the prognosis of ambulation after spinal cord injury.

Target Audience

Nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech/language pathologists, case managers, social workers, physiatrists/physicians, fellows, and residents involved with the acute care and rehabilitation of spinal cord injury patients are encouraged to attend.

Learning Objectives

Having attended this activity, attendees will be able to:
1.    Describe the benefits and risks of gait training for an individual with a spinal cord injury.
2.    Describe how common clinical prediction rules are currently formed and how they are used to predict ambulation among those with acute spinal cord injury.
3.    Describe the usefulness of common clinical prediction rules for ambulation and areas for improvement.

Course summary
Available credit: 
  • 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
    The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
  • 0.25 ANCC
    UPMC Provider Unit is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation
  • 0.25 ASWB
  • 0.25 Attendance
Course opens: 
02/24/2022
Course expires: 
12/31/2022
Event starts: 
05/24/2022 - 4:00pm EDT
Event ends: 
05/24/2022 - 5:30pm EDT
Add to calendar: 

Program Schedule
4pm    Sign in    
4:15pm    Welcome and Introduction    Briana Kelly
4:20pm    Presentation and Q&A    Stephenie Rigot
5:30pm    Adjourn    

Live Virtual Conference
Pitttsburgh, PA
United States

Presenters
Stephanie Rigot, PDT, PhD    Post-Doctoral Fellow
Shirley Ryan AbilityLab

Course Director
Briana Kelly, MOT, OT/L
Senior Manager, Rehab Organizations
UPMC Rehabilitation Institute

This activity is approved for the following credit:  AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, ANCC, and ASWB. Other health care professionals will receive a certificate of attendance confirming the number of contact hours commensurate with the extent of participation in this activity. 

Available Credit

  • 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
    The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
  • 0.25 ANCC
    UPMC Provider Unit is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation
  • 0.25 ASWB
  • 0.25 Attendance
Please login or register to take this course.

Instructions to Register
This program is free to all CRS and UPMC employees.
Registering online is the quickest and easiest way to reserve your space at CCEHS conferences.
• Visit our online registration site at: cce.upmc.com
• Here is the direct link to register: https://cce.upmc.com/clinical-connections-May-2022

Click the “Register/Take Course” Button and enter all the requested information. After registering, an electronic confirmation will be sent to you. Online registration is complete upon receipt of a confirmation email. If you do not receive the confirmation email immediately, please contact Jessa Darwin (jcd79@pitt.edu).

The Americans with Disabilities Act Information
Participation by all individuals is encouraged. Advance notification of any special needs will help us provide better service. Please notify us of your needs at least two weeks in advance of the program by calling Amy Pietrolaj at 412-232-4072.